Thiên thần
by DavidxEmber
Summary: She would always love her precious thiên thần. Spitfire centric. Post Endgame. Three-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's a two-shot, as I work on the new chapter of Sleepless. Thank God that I managed to recover what I had wrote. The new chapter should be up within the next two weeks.**

 **Enjoy** _  
_

 _Thiên thần_

 _Angel_

* * *

 _"Wait, where's Wally?!"_

 _"Artemis, he wanted me to tell you..."_ _  
_

 _"No, no."_ _  
_

 _"He loved you."_ _  
_

* * *

 _"You look good."_

 _"Really? Cause I feel like a fraud."_

 _"Well, don't. You're honoring Wally's memory by becoming Kid Flash."_ _  
_

 _"So, you suited up, but as Tigress?"_ _  
_

 _"Artemis was Wally's partner. I need some space. Time to see how Tigress works out."_ _  
_

 _"As a hero?"_ _  
_

 _ **"** As a blonde."_ _  
_

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **December 5, 2016  
** **04:17 am**

Artemis awoke in the middle of the night, seeing the empty space she'd grown used to. Sighing, the archer stretched her limbs in the bed she once shared with Wally.

 _Wally_.

Everyone had been surprised when she declined various League and Team members offers to let her stay with them after Wally's... _Demise_. But the archer, still holding on to the small, nearly impossible hope that he would miraculously come back to them, figured their apartment in Palo Alto would be the first place he'd go to look for her.

Her stomach growling, she got up and trudged her way towards the kitchen, a loyal Brucely following his two-legged mother. Flipping on the light, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Nightwing, dressed in civies, sitting at her kitchen table.

"Dick, you dick! It's four am! What are you doing in my house?!" She snapped.

"Figured I'd come check on you & your... _Predicament_." He said, shrugging.

"I'm _pregnant_ , not _dying_. You ass fuck." Artemis growled at him, her hands instinctively going to her swollen stomach.

"I know that Artemis. So how's my Godbaby doing in there?" He asked, removing his sunglasses.

" _Conner and M'gann's Godbaby_ is doing fine." She corrected, rolling her eyes.

Dick sighed, frowning.

Wally had been his _best friend_. Losing him had been the worst day of his life since losing his parents. And he was very aware of the fact that, even though she would never say it to him, _Artemis blamed him_.

She blamed him for everything that had happened to them since March. She blamed him for convincing her to go undercover, for Wally going back into his Kid Flash costume...

And she labeled him as the reason why her unborn son or daughter would never get to meet or be loved by their Father.

She grabbed a yogurt from the fridge & a spoon from the drawer, before sitting in the seat across from Dick, one hand on her stomach as she ate her snack.

She remember the day she found out she was pregnant clearly. _August 8th, 2016-_ six years to the day that she had met Wally in the Cave. She remembered feeling her heart shatter for the second time in less then two months, as she had stared at the positive test resting on the bathroom counter.

She quit the Team, for the second and final time, less then two hours later.

Mary and Rudy were the first people she had told, two days later. All three of them spent the next hour crying. Wally's parents had been secretly relieved that even though their only child was gone, they'd soon have a precious and perfect grandchild to love, so a part of him would get to live on.

"Artemis, I know you blame me for-"

" _Don't_ ," she interrupted, "Do not make this a woe is me bullshit visit." She growled.

"So unless you have a legit reason for visiting me in the middle of the fucking night, I suggest you get out of my house and stay out." She snarled, slamming her first on the table, the noise causing Brucely to whine.

"Artemis, I'm-"

"I said _get out_!" Artemis snapped, throwing the empty yogurt container at his head.

Sighing, he stood up, glanced at her with a look of heart break, before leaving her apartment.

Artemis groaned, placing her hand on her protruding gut, where her and Wally's precious _thiên thần_ was kicking her, and waddled towards the empty yogurt container, before tossing it in the trash.

"Baby, why do you like to attack your mama's ribs." She hissed, before collapsing on the couch & flipping on the television, unable to fall back to sleep.  
Brucely wasted no time in jumping on the couch, resting his head on her lap in hopes of comforting her.

* * *

 **Watchtower  
** **December 13, 2016  
** **14:16pm** **  
**

Barry stood in the grotto, looking up at Wally's memorial. It'd been almost seven months since his nephew had died saving the world.

"I still haven't gotten used to you not being around anymore, Kid. No one has, really." He sighed, his head dropping down to the plaque at the base of his memorial.

 _Kid Flash  
_ _Wallace Rudolph West  
_ _November 11, 1994  
_ _June 20, 2016_ _  
_

 _"_ Artemis and the baby are doing great. Me and Bart check in on her every other week and she visits your parents and me and your Aunt Iris twice a month. She's decided to have the gender be a surprise until birth. I think it's easier for her that way. Bart knows what it's gonna be, obviously. But he's respecting Artemis's wish to not know and is keeping quiet. Not entirely sure what she's gonna name the baby, either. Hell, I don't even know if she's picked any names out. But she's got another fifteen weeks before she delivers. So if she doesn't have a name picked out she still has time to decide." Barry smiled, trying to think of happier thoughts, even though he knew he was failing.

"Don and Dawn are crawling now. Iris cried the first time it happened." He chuckled.

"We really do miss you, Wally." Barry sighed, placing his hand on the plaque before leaving.

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **December 31, 2016  
** **11:50pm** **  
**

Artemis sat on the couch, eating a fruit salad as her and her deceased lover's growing offspring moved around, as if playing inside of her.

"It's almost me and your Daddy's anniversary, _thiên thần_." She cooed, running her hand along the top of her stomach.

"He would've loved you _so much_ \- even more then I do, shockingly. And I'm so sorry you won't get to have him as you grow up. It's all mommy's fault. Mommy and Daddy had something great, and she was _selfish_ and _had_ to go back to do what made us meet in the first place, and in the end, not only did she lose your Daddy, but everyone else who loved him did too." Artemis sighed.

"And of course Mommy is sitting here, blaming Daddy's best friend for it all. If it wasn't for him, none of this would've ever happened & you'd be hearing your Dad talk to you instead of hearing me tell you stories about him & why you won't ever get to hear him tell you them himself."

Brucely whined, wagging his tail. Artemis smiled at the full grown pit bull, petting him as she gave him a kiss on top of his head, earning a smile from the gentle giant.

"You miss him too, don't you boy?" She said, scratching his back as Brucely let out a playful yip.

Artemis placed her now empty bowl on the coffee table and sighed, before glancing at one of the pictures of her & Wally on end table. It was after her _Gotham Academy_ graduation. Artemis didn't even have time to take off her cap before the speedster had thrown his arms around her and kissed her cheek, huge smiles on both their faces. Rudy had saw that as the perfect opportunity to take a picture of the young couple.

The expectant mother sighed, looking at the clock on her phone.

 _12:00 am_ _  
_

"Happy anniversary, _Baywatch_." She frowned, fighting back tears, as she got up and went to bed, Brucely following behind her.

* * *

 **Gotham City  
** **Janauary 13, 2017  
** **2:18pm**

Paula couldn't help but smile as she watched her youngest daughter's stomach move where her baby kicked her.

"How are you feeling?" Paula asked, as Artemis drank the hot chocolate she made for her and her mom.

"Good. I still miss Wally, but it's been getting a bit... _Easier_." She sighed, setting the empty cup down on the coffee table.

"I'm glad I'm getting to see your body grow and change. I didn't even know Jade had become a mother until Lian was six months old." Paula sighed.

"I didn't know she was pregnant either until she showed up at me & Wally's place in _labor_." Artemis sighed, remembering the day Lian had been born.

 _It had been three in the morning and Wally and Artemis had been fast asleep when they heard a bounding on their front door. Wally had groaned, tossing the covers off of him._ _  
_

 _"I swear if it's Dick I'm pushing him down the stairs." He snapped, before stomping towards the front door._ _  
_

 _He had thrown it open and was taken aback by what he saw. Cheshire, clad in civies, hunched over in pain as her hand clutched her basketball sized stomach._ _  
_

 _"Umm... Artemis! You need to come see this! NOW!" Wally hollered, moving out of Jade's way so she could step inside._ _  
_

 _The two of them could hear Artemis swear in Vietnemese, before walking to their living room._ _  
_

 _"What could it possi- who the fuck did this to you?!" She had shrieked, seeing her heavily pregnant- and obvious in labor- older sister._ _  
_

 _"The husband I left seven months ago!" Jade snapped, clutching the sleeve of Wally's shirt._ _  
_

 _"You got married?" Artemis cried._ _"To who?"_ _  
_

 _"Arrow Jr." Jade scoffed, as Artemis ran to her sister._ _  
_

 _"Roy? You married ROY?!" Wally yelped, as Artemis helped Jade in her time of need._ _  
_

 _"Con...tractions are- ooh!- three minutes... apart." Jade rasped, her head resting on her baby sister's shoulders._ _  
_

 _"You show up out of the blue, after not bothering to send a text saying HI for over a year- and you show up in labor to our apartment instead of going to a_ _hospital? Are you kidding me?! I knew your childhoods were fucked up! Didn't think it was that bad though!" Wally snapped._

 _"Wallace! Shut the fuck up & help me get her on to the table!" Artemis snarled at him._ _  
_

 _"Why our table? We eat there!" Wally pouted._ _  
_

 _"It's either or table or our bed." She smirked._ _  
_

 _Wally groaned, before going to help Artemis get Jade on to their table._ _  
_

 _"Okay Baywatch, I need you to get some clean towels from the bathroom." Artemis told him, as she helped Jade get her pants off. Wally sped off towards the bathroom, and in seconds had handed his long term girlfriend the towels, before going back to Jade to hold her hand._ _  
_

 _"So do you know what the baby is gonna be?" He asked, making small talk._ _  
_

 _"N-no Speedy Gonzalez." She hissed._ _  
_

 _"Okay Jade, I need you to push." Artemis said._ _  
_

 _"What a lovely view you have there, beautiful." Wally smirked._ _  
_

 _"Sure is. Wanna trade spots?" Artemis retorted._ _  
_

 _"Fuck no."_ _  
_

 _"Will you two shut the fuck up already?!" Jade cried, face scrunched up in pain as she pushed._ _  
_

 _It took her two and a half hours, but finally- finally- tiny high pitched wails could be heard through out the apartment._ _  
_

 _"Jade she's here!" Artemis gasped, holding up her squirming and bloody niece for her sister to see._ _Jade smiled lazily, as her sister placed her newborn daughter onto her flattened stomach while the newborn was being cleaned by one of the towels._

 _"So does she have a name?" Wally asked, rubbing the new mom's shoulders._ _  
_

 _"Uh huh," she panted "Lian Grace Nguyen-Harper." She smiled, clutching her newborn daughter._ _  
_

 _"You and Roy make cute kids." Wally smiled._ _  
_

 _"Thanks. And congrats, you two. You're Godparents." Jade smirked._ _  
_

"It doesn't surprise me that Jade did that." Paula said, shaking her head.

"Honestly, Jade stopped surprising me years ago." Artemis said.

* * *

 **Happy Harbor  
** **February 21, 2017  
** **09:47am**

M'gann being worried about Artemis was something Conner had become used to over the last eight months since Wally's departure, and the last four since they had repaired their relationship.

What he _hadn't_ gotten used to, was the fact that a _week_ after they got back together, Artemis had asked them to be the Godparents to her and Wally's growing miracle.

He was both _over_ whelmed and _under_ whelmed.

"So what do you think Artemis is gonna have?" Conner asked, as M'gann poured herself a cup of coffee in their kitchen. The Martian had returned from a mission at _two am_ and found that even though she was _still_ beyond exhausted, she couldn't go back to sleep.

So coffee with enough cream and sugar to put a healthy adult human into a diabetic coma was about to be chugged down by said Martian.

Since the two had gotten back together (and because the Cave had been blown to _smithereens)_ the two had decided it'd just be easier to get a small apartment together in Happy Harbor, something they'd discussed long before their break up.

The make up sex was worth it, too.

"I have no idea. I've been trying not to read the baby's mind, but sometimes it's just so..."

"Tempting?" He asked.

"Exactly." She sighed. "What about you? What do you think she's gonna have?" M'gann asked him.

"I think it's a girl. But there's also a small part of me that thinks it's a boy." He shrugged.

"Whatever the baby is, I hope it's blonde. I don't think Artemis could mentally and emotionally handle having a _redhead_. Not at first, anyway." M'gann sighed.

"I'm still surprised we're the godparents. I figured she'd ask Wally's parents or the Flash and his wife. Or hell, someone from the Arrow family." Conner said, drinking his own cup of coffee.

"Well the Flash has two kids that will be less then a year older then Artemis and Wally's baby, Wally's parents are almost in their sixties, her mom lives in Gotham in a not so safe neighborhood, & Roy and Jade have Lian. I guess we were the logical choice for her." M'gann shrugged.

"Or maybe she figured it'd be a way for us to be parents if something happened to her...?" Conner's suggestion had both of them frowning.

They both had been aware since the beginning of their relationship that because of their genealogy, the chances of them having a biological child- that wasn't a Cadmus creation- was extremely small.

And unless there was an intergalactic adoption agency, the chances of them being able to adopt a child were even smaller.

"Maybe." M'gann said, kissing his forehead.

Conner smirked, before picking her up and walking back to their bedroom, M'gann laughing and squealing the entire time.

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **March 21, 2017  
** **11:19pm**

Artemis found herself, at 36 weeks pregnant, with her head in the freezer, desperate to find the gallon sized container of mint chocolate ice cream to satisfy her desperate craving.

Once the frozen treat was located, she wasted no time in grabbing a spoon & sitting down at the table to scarf the delicacy down as fast she could without getting a brain freeze.

The container was a third of the way consumed when Artemis felt a sharp pain across her torso, before a rush of liquid trickle down her thighs.

 _Oh God_.

She stood up with caution, taking a moment to allow her brain to register with the events that were happening.

Her and Wally's baby was coming, and it was coming _now_. Trying to stay calm, she put the lid back on the ice cream, stuck it back into the fridge  & put the spoon in the dishwasher before she proceeded to run it, washing the dirty dishes inside.

Taking deep breaths, she filled Brucley's food bowl, double checked to make sure he had plenty of water, & left the apartment, locking the door behind her as she cautiously walked down the stairs towards her car, that had been ready for the baby's arrival for over a month now.

Letting out a gasp as her second contraction hit her- _seven minutes apart_ , she thought, taking a mental note- the moment she had closed her car door. Once the pain subsided, she started the car, and proceeded to take the fifteen minute drive to the nearest hospital.

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **March 22, 2017  
** **2:19am** _  
_

Artemis, set up in the hospital bed and currently seven centimeters dilated, had denyed the hospital's offer to call someone for her.

She knew no one would make it in time, considering she had jumped from three to seven centimeters in just barely three hours, so she didn't bother to call anyone to be with her.

And even if that wasn't the case, the only one she wanted in the room with her was _gone_.

"Miss Crock, would you like an epidural?" The nurse asked, noticing Artemis's face scrunch up in pain at the contraction.

"N-no." Artemis panted, rejecting the pain medicine.

"Alright. But you let me know if you change your mind, understand?" She said, earning a nod from the ex vigilante.

 _Before Artemis knew it, it was time for her to push_.

She let out a cry of pain, mentally swearing that if it wasn't for the fact that the Reach's technology hade beaten her to it, she would've killed Wally for doing this to her.

Between the pushes and the pain, her mind wondered to the night their previous t _hiên thần_ had been conceived.

It had been after they had arrived home from informing the League- at least the members that weren't on Rimbor- about what they had done. After she reacquainted herself with a loving Brucely, Wally wasted no time in scooping her into his arms, and taking her to their bedroom, where they made up for the last three months of being apart.

 _Twenty four hours later, and he was gone_.

A release of pressure snapped Artemis back into reality as she heard tiny frustrated screams fill the room.

She looked up and saw a flailing newborn squirm and fight in the doctor's hands, desperately wanting to be anywhere other then the cold doctor's hands, bright blonde hair and olive skin stained red by the fluids they'd been submerged in for the last nine months. Artemis then glanced between the tiny newborn's legs and let out a breath she didn't know she had even been holding in.

 _Her and Wally had a son_.

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **March 22, 2017  
** **3:45am**

Jason Henry Crock ( _oh how Artemis had wished she could make her perfect baby boy a West, but couldn't because Wally was gone and they hadn't had time to get married and legally she couldn't give her son the name of a man who couldn't sign his birth certificate_.) was nothing short of perfect to his loving mother. From his bright blonde hair, to his ten tiny toes, he couldn't have been more beautiful to Artemis.

Even though he mostly resembled her as a newborn, when she looked at him, all she saw was Wally.

"Hello my beautiful t _hiên thần._ My little Jay-Jay. _"_ She smiled, kissing his forehead, earning a grunt from her newborn, wrapped tightly in a pale blue blanket, a white knit hat on his head to help keep him warm.

Her beautiful Jason had been born weighing seven pounds even, and was 21 inches long, at three am exactly on his Godfather's 23 ( _cough! seven, cough!_ ) birthday _._ _  
_

Once she had marveled in the fact that he was there in her arms, she took her phone off the bedside table and proceeded to dial Mary's phone number.

" _Artemis...? It's almost four am over there. Is everything ok?"_ Mary asked her, sounding worried.

"Mmhmm. You have a Grandson, Mary." She told the woman who would never get the chance to call the blonde her _daughter-in-law_.

" _Are you serious? Oh God! Me and Rudy will be there in Palo Alto as soon as we possibly can_!" Mary gasped, sounding excited.

Artemis smiled widely as she could hear Mary telling her husband of nearly thirty years that the grandchild they had been blessed to have was a _baby boy_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this took so long.**

 **Between this story being updated & now, I've gone through two birthdays, three BIRTHS, and a death/funeral. **

**(It was my great aunt, she died of a heart attack in her sleep. Very quick, very painless. I'm saying thank you for your condolences in advanced.)**

 **Okay so I lied. This is gonna be a three-shot.**

 **But hey- more chapters=more spitfire**

* * *

" _Uhhhh, this could wind up being one of those things that sounds better in my head than outloud, but you are a real archer... No! I mean, I'm jazzed about Red Arrow. We go way back, you know? But you? You've made your own place on the Team. You have nothing to prove. Not to me, okay?"_

 _"Okay."_

 _"And, Wally? It sounded fine, out loud."_

* * *

 _"I should've done this a long time ago."_

 _"No kidding."_

* * *

 **Central City  
** **April 1, 2017  
** **12:30 pm**

To say that _Jason "Jay" Crock_ was unloved by his superhero family would be an absolute bold-faced _lie_.

Everyone on the Team and League that had laid eyes on the pudgy newborn in the week since his birth had fallen absolutely in love with the beyond adorable first and only child to _Artemis Lian Crock_ and the late _Wallace Rudolph West_.

But what actually surprised several of the heroes, was that Artemis had named him after the fallen second Robin and the second Flash _instead_ of Wally.

When finally asked by a curious Wonder Woman, her response was simple.

" _Emotionally, I couldn't do it. I couldn't handle giving my son the same name as the Dad he'll never get to meet. And even if that wasn't the case, Wally wasn't exactly a fan of his own full name, either. So, I named him after Jason and Barry._ " Artemis had responded.

Nightwing- _despite wanting nothing more then to hold and love the son of his fallen best friend as if he were his own_ \- avoided seeing Artemis, fearing the reaction the new mother would have if he stepped anywhere near her little boy.

So, he settled for saving- _aka stealing_ \- copies of all the photos the other heroes had taken of Jason.

He decided that _somehow_ , _someway_ , he'd get Jason his Dad back.

* * *

 **Palo Alto**

 **April 23, 2017**

 **10:43 am**

Brucely had made it his life's mission to always guard the one month old Jason whenever he wasn't nestled in their mother's arms.

The little boy, in his four short weeks being in the outside world, had flourished to a hefty eleven and a half pounds, and grown another two inches. His wispy blonde locks, at birth only covered the top and back of his scalp, were beginning to curl around his ears, which had been the only thing Artemis had noticed he's gained from Wally immediately following his birth.

His eyes, however, had begun to transform from their original newborn blue, to the most breath taking shade of green Artemis had ever laid eyes on, darker then the ones Wally had sported, but not quite the same shade of green as her original costume.

"Well that's two things you have from your Daddy so far, Jay." Artemis cooed, staring at the the green irises of her wide-eyed son, who was mesmerized by the mobile attached to his crib.

" _How you feeling, baby girl?_ "

Artemis snarled, keeping her body instinctively between the crib holding her son and her Father, standing a mere five feet from them.

"How the hell did you get in here?!" She hissed, pulling a switch blade out from her back pocket and flipping it open.

" _Relax_ Artemis- put the knife _away_. I'm _not_ gonna hurt you _or_ Jay." Lawrence said, holding both his hands up to reassure his youngest.

"Why should I believe you?!" She growled.

"Because if I was going to take or hurt him I would've done it by now." Lawrence scoffed, the tension causing Jay to fuss.

"Oh _thiên thần."_ She cooed, dropping the blade and scooping him up into her arms to rest his head on her breast, relieved when the contact with her calmed him down. She turned back to her Dad, glaring daggers at him.

"What do you want?" She groaned. She wasn't thrilled in the slightest to see him there in the same house as her helpless son.

"To check on my baby girl and her little boy." Lawrence told her, uncrossing his arms.

"Who told you it was a boy? It's not like I've contacted you- haven't seen you since that time on Manta's ship when I was... _Undercover_." She sighed.

Then it hit her.

"Jade told you? Didn't she?" Artemis cried.

"It was your mother actually. Not on purpose though, so don't blame her. Went to check on her- as I have done every so often since we thought you had went and _died on us-_ and I overheard her discussing with Jade on the phone that you had had a boy. So instead of checking on your mother, I went to check on you instead." Lawrence told her.

Artemis absolutely without a doubt did _not_ believe him, but she was too tired to argue with her.

"So what's his name?" He asked.

"Jason Henry Crock. But I've been calling him Jay the majority of the time.

"Thank you for _not_ naming my first grandson _Wallace Jr._ But why does he have _our_ last name?" Confusion dripped from Crusher's voice.

"You're welcome. And me and Wally weren't married. And since he's... _gone_ , I couldn't legally give Jay his last name. So because of _that_ , he's a _Crock_. _No matter how much I wish he wasn't."_ Artemis explained.

"He _looks_ like a _Crock_. But you're right, the boy _should_ be a _West_." Lawrence sighed.

As they had conversated, Lawrence had stepped closer to his youngest daughter and newborn grandson. He looked at the wide awake Jay and smirked.

"Oh yeah, he definetly has Flash Jr.'s eyes." He grinned.

"Oh! Before I leave, Artemis. I got the him a present- for when he's older, of course." Lawrence said, kissing her on the forehead goodbye and ruffling Jay's blonde hair before leaving out the front door.

Sighing and rolling her eyes, Artemis placed Jay back into his crib before going to search for the " _gift_ " her Dad had left for him.

She found a large box on her kitchen table, tied with a blue ribbon.

Groaning, she unwrapped the ribbon and opened the box.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

 _Her Dad had gotten her son a flail_.

* * *

 **Central City  
** **May 1, 2017  
** **6:19 pm**

Mary West, in the almost fifty-five years she'd be on this Earth, _never_ thought she'd see a little boy _more_ precious and beautiful then _her Wally_.

 _Until the very first time she laid eyes on his Jason._

At that very moment, she knew without a doubt in her mind that she would love the only grandchild she would ever get to have as if he were her own.

As of now, Mary was relaxed on her and Rudy's couch, a six week old Jay, snug in a pale blue onesie and gray cotton pants, fast asleep in her arms, as his Mother and Grandfather cooked dinner in the kitchen.

Mary remembered the day her Wally was born so _perfectly_.

Her and Rudy had tried for _ten_ long years to be blessed with a baby of their own. Some couples who struggled with fertility experienced false positives or even miscarriages and still births.

 _They hadn't even gotten that._

Then, one year, the day _after_ their twelfth wedding anniversary, they got the news that they had wanted for ten long agonizing years.

 _They were expecting._

They had decided to let the baby be a surprise until birth. They didn't care if it was a boy or a girl anyhow. They just wanted a baby.

And low and behold, on _November 11, 1994_ , after so many years of heart break, and a 23 hour labor of pure pain and agony ( _plus an emergency c-section_ ) their _perfect_ son was born, finally completing their wish for a perfect family.

 _And on June 20, 2016 they lost him forever_.

"He giving you any trouble Mary?" Artemis hollered from the kitchen.

"Oh no. The opposite actually." Mary laughed, smiling down at Jay. She stood up, Jay still asleep, and walked to the kitchen.

Artemis beamed at the sight of her small son, kissing his forehead before helping Rudy serve dinner.

"Has he been sleeping through the night?" Mary asked.

"Not as much as I'd prefer him to, but he's gotten a lot better." Artemis sighed, grabbing the silverware.

"Wally was almost six months old before he'd sleep longer then three hours at a time." Rudy chuckled as they sat down at the table.

"Artemis, I have a question, if you don't mind me asking it of course." Mary said, gaining Artemis's attention.

 _Oh God, what is it? Did I do something? Did I upset her?_ Artemis mentally panicked.

"Sure. What is it?" Artemis asked.

"What are you going to do if Jay inherits the speedster gene?" Mary asked. Her question resulted in Artemis chocking on her pork chop, to the point where Rudy had to whack her on the back. Once she could breathe again, the new mom stared at the experienced mom with wide eyes.

The question had _never_ entered her mind. She had no idea what would happen or what she'd do if one day her precious son could spontaneously run at a hundred miles per hour at will.

"I have no idea..." She said quietly, gulping.

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **May 12, 2017  
** **9:18 am**

Artemis was both nervous and excited. Tomorrow would be her _first_ Mother's Day. While she was putting Jay in his swing after being fed  & burped, she heard a knock on the door.

She walked towards the door and opened it, pleasantly surprised to see M'gann.

"Hey M'gann. Come in." Artemis grinned, stepping aside for the Martian.

"H-hey." M'gann gave a small smile, her eyes averting to a still awake Jay, who's eyes were watching a sleeping Brucely.

"Are you okay?" Artemis questioned, lifting an eyebrow.

M'gann sighed. "Canary told me yesterday that I'm _pregnant_." She told her best friend, her eyes finally leaving her almost two month old Godson back to his ecstatic mother.

"M'gann! That's _wonderful_!" Artemis beamed, throwing her arms around her. "How'd Conner take it? Does he know?" She asked.

"Yeah he knows. He was in shock at first but now he can't wait. Says he _doesn't care_ if it's a boy _or_ a girl as long as their eyes are _blue_." M'gann gave a small smile.

 _That's when Artemis realized that something was wrong._

"M'gann, what is it? Tell me what's wrong?" Artemis asked, growing concerned.

"I'm due on Wally's birthday..." M'gann sighed, fearing how upset Artemis would be over the information.

Artemis smiled at her. "That's great, M'gann!" She smiled. This took the pregnant Martian by surprise.

"You're _not_ upset...?" She asked.

"No. Why? Wally _would've_ been thrilled to have a friend become a parent on his _birthday_. And besides, Jay _was_ born on Conner's birthday, so it's only fair that you  & Conner's baby be born on Wally's." She told her.

" _Oh thank H'moneer_!" M'gann gasped. "I was so worried you'd be..." M'gann trailed off.

" _Upset_? M'gann, _Wally's death killed me inside_. I'll be the first to admit that the first few weeks had me tempting to find some way to be able to _join him_. But I _can't_ keep dwelling on it, especially since _our son_ needs me to move on and _stop_ letting it control me." Artemis told her.

M'gann gave her a soft smile, no longer as worried.

"You're going to have a girl." Artemis grinned at her.

"A girl? You really think so?" M'gann questioned.

"Oh course. You're what, twelve weeks?"

"Fourteen." She corrected her.

"So you find out in like a month. I'm telling you, M'gann! You & Conner are going to have a _daughter_."

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **June 20, 2017  
** **12:07 am**

 _A year. It's been a year._

Artemis found herself crying in the bathroom, her back leaning against the door. It'd been a full _365 days_ since the love of her life had disintegrated before the eyes of his Uncle/Mentor and future born cousin.

And in that year, she had welcomed _his_ son- the son she would _never_ get the ability to introduce to his Father- into the world.

Artemis stared at the picture on her phone, one of the last pictures they'd ever taken with each other, and couldn't help but remember one of the few conversations they'd ever had about having kids.

" _Oh come on, Arty! You never imagined what your future kids would look like?" Wally cried, flabbergasted at his girlfriend of three years._

 _"Nope. Didn't think I'd live long enough to have them." Artemis sighed._

 _Oh._

 _"But tell me Baywatch, what do you imagine your offspring looking like?" She smirked._

 _"_ _Definitely_ _want them to have my eyes. My eyes would look good on any gender with any hair color and any skin tone. And my love of science. They don't have to be obsessed like me- but they have to at least enjoy the subject." He grinned, jumping onto the couch in their apartment._

 _"If I have any sons, I hope my red hair doesn't go to them. God the nicknames some of the evil bastards I went to school with came up with! And having the name Wally didn't help shit." He grimaced. Artemis couldn't help but laugh at him._

 _"Oh what, you mean to tell me you don't want a Wally Jr.?" She asked._

 _"God no! The only name I want my kids to have in common with me is my last name. I swear my parents naming me Wallace Rudolph West should've been considered a form of child abuse!" He groaned, smacking his palm against his face._

 _Artemis found herself laughing so hard she was on the floor, tears in her eyes._

 _"Now I have a hard time believing there isn't some part of you that you don't want going to your future kids." He told her._

 _"Well, I wouldn't mind one of my kids being a blonde..." She shrugged, struggling to stand up off the floor._

 _Wally laughed, hoped off the couch and ran towards her, picking her up bridal style._

 _"When we have kids they're gonna be smart little science nerd bad asses." He grinned, kissing her cheek._

 _"When?" She questioned, a smirk forming across her mouth._

 _"Yes, when." He chuckled, kissing her neck._

 _"We're not making one anytime soon, Wallman." Artemis reminded him._

 _"Oh of course not! Maybe in like five or so years." He shrugged, carrying her to their bedroom as she cackled._

"He's _perfect_ Baywatch. Jay's _everything_ we could have ever dreamed of and more." She sniffled, leaning her head back against the door and staring up at the ceiling.

* * *

 **Happy Harbor Beach  
** **July 4th, 2017  
** **12:45 pm**

The original Team was enjoying the Fourth of July on the Beach, marveling in the fact that the Team had been around for seven years now.

While Raquel and the boys played volley ball, the rest of the girls enjoyed the sun & watched Jay experience sand for the first time.

"He's starting to look more like Wally..." M'gann pointed out.

"Tell me about it. I still see a lot of me, but he's getting Baywatch's smile." Artemis grinned.

"So any names picked out Meg?" Zatanna asked her.

"Not officially. But Conner likes the name _Lily_." M'gann said. Artemis couldn't help but smirk. She loved being _right_ about what M'gann and Conner's baby was gonna be.

"That's a cute name." Artemis told her, putting a whining Jay in her lap.

Zatanna smiled at the little boy, tickling under his chin.

Even though it'd been over a year, no one had gotten used to Wally being _gone_. His death had emotionally killed everyone, not just Artemis and the Flashes.

Nightwing, unknown to anyone else, was still desperately trying to bring Wally back. Jay didn't deserve to grow up the way he did.

 _Without his dad._

He just wish he knew _how_ to do it.

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **October 2, 2017  
** **14:39 pm**

"Jay? Jay? Jason where did you go?" Artemis panicked, frantically searching for her almost seven month old son.

She _finally_ found him under the kitchen table, _giggling_ , his stuffed penguin in his mouth soaked with drool.

"There you are my little _thiên thần."_ She cooed, scooping him into her arms and kissing his cheek as he squealed with delight.

"Mama!" He shrieked, gripping her shirt between his pudgy little fists. Artemis smiled, holding him snug in her arms as stood up off the floor.

She lifted him up in to the air and blew raspberries onto his exposed tummy, causing him to shriek and kick his chubby legs.

Ever since Jay started crawling last month, Artemis had been mentally preparing herself for him to start _walking_.

And after walking comes going to _school_.

"I'm gonna make you some lunch, okay _thiên thần?"_ She smiled, setting him down on the floor by Brucely.

While Artemis went to the kitchen to prepare a jar of baby food for him, Jay crawled over to the end table next to the couch. The infant was particularly interested in a certain photo on the table.

"Jay-Jay? What are you doing baby?" Artemis cooed, leaning into the living room from the kitchen.

" _Da-da_!" He yelled, grabbing at the picture.

Artemis was shocked, going towards her son, wanting to make sure she heard him correctly.

"What was that _thiên thần?"_ She asked him, sitting on the floor next to Jay.

"Dada!" Jay yelled again, this time pointing to the picture of her and Wally from her graduation.

"Yeah, baby... _That's your Daddy._ " She sighed, handing Jay the frame. Jay looked at the picture, running his chubby fingers over the faces of his parents when they were younger.

He looked up from the picture and saw that his mom was sad. The picture still in his hands, he climbed into her lap & laid his head against her chest.

Artemis smiled, kissing the top of his head.

"I miss him too _thiên thần."_

* * *

 **Happy Harbor  
** **November 10, 2017  
** **21:13 pm**

M'gann's water breaks while she's brushing her teeth the night before her and Conner's daughter is supposed to arrive into the world to meet her excited parents.

"Umm, Conner?" She hollered to him.

"Yeah? Everything okay?" He asked, coming down the hallway from the living room.

"Ugh, define _ok_?" M'gann grimaced, staring at the puddle between her feet as more of the disgustingly warm liquid trailed down her legs.

"Oh shit." He gasped, eyes growing wide.

M'gann nodded, wincing in pain as she felt a sharp pain in her lower stomach.

"We kinda need to get going, _now_." She groaned, hunching over as Conner rushes to comfort her.

"The nearest Zeta tube is fifteen minutes away. Think you'll make it that far?" Conner asked her.

"I promise nothing." M'gann sighed, as she began to walk towards the front door.

 _She made it two steps_.

"Yeah, _n-no_. Doubt I'll make it out of the apartment. Holy shit this hurts worst then when I got my shoulder broken senior year by Bane." She groaned in pain.

Feeling nothing but guilt for putting her through this pain, Conner helped her to their bed before calling Black Canary on his com link.

"Dinah? Yeah, it's me. I need you to come to the apartment. M'gann's water broke & she doesn't think she'll make it to the Zeta tubes." Conner sighed.

" _Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can_."

* * *

 **Happy Harbor  
** **November 11, 2017  
** **12:16 am**

Conner and M'gann couldn't believe it.

 _They were parents_.

All they had wanted for the majority of their relationship was a child, and now, here she was. Snuggled in a blanket in her exhausted mother's arms, was the precious little _Liliana Marie Kent_ , a nearly identical copy of her adoring Father.

The tiny newborn, barely weighing six pounds at birth, was born just minutes after the clock struck midnight on what would've been her Godfather's _23rd_ birthday.

"Everything looks fine with the both of you, so I'll leave you guys alone to bond. _Congratulations you guys_." Dinah smiled, leaving the new parents to bond with the daughter they thought would never become more then a dream.

"She's absolutely _perfect_ , Conner." M'gann cooed, as they watched their daughter sleep.

"She is. I can't believe we made her." Conner beamed, kissing M'gann's forehead.

Their bliss was interrupted by the gurgling and the squirming of the newborn Lily.

"Hello baby girl." Conner smiled, his finger gently stroking his daughter's cheek, her bright blue eyes staring back at his own.

"You know there's a chance we _won't_ get lucky enough to have baby number two, right?" M'gann reminded him.

"She's worth it." He told her, carefully taking Lily out of M'gann's arms and into his own, her small head resting against his chest.

M'gann smiled as she watched the love of her life fall more and more in love with the daughter they had just welcomed into the world.

Conner turned to her, a smile forming on his face.

" _Let's get married_." He suggested. M'gann's mouth opened slightly in shock.

" _Conner_..."

"Now it doesn't have to be in the next few months, but maybe in a year or two, before Lily starts school, we could get married. It doesn't have to be huge." Conner suggested.

"Okay." M'gann smiled, earning a kiss on the lips from Conner.

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **November 20, 2017  
** **18:51 pm**

Artemis was startled by a phone call in the middle of dinner by a sobbing Mary.

"M-Mary? Mary? What's wrong? What happened?" Artemis asked, concerned, as she stood up from the table.

" _R-R-Rudy's g-gone_!" Mary sobbed over the phone.

 _What?_

"Mary? What do you mean Rudy's gone?" Artemis asked.

" _A-after dinner, Rudy started having... C-chest pains. So I suggested that he go to the hospital. He declined and instead went to his o-office. I went to check on him and f-found him on the... floor! He h-had a heart attack Artemis! M-my husband is g-gone_!" Mary bawled.

"Oh my God... Jay and I will be over as soon as we possibly can." Artemis gasped, quickly standing up & going to her and Jay's shared bedroom, stuffing some of her clothes into a duffle bag.

" _You don't h-have to Artemis..._ " Mary sniffled.

"I _want_ to, Mary. I'll call you when I get to Central City." Artemis told her, ending the call as she zipped up her duffle bag. She grabbed Jay's diaper bag and began to pack extra diapers and outfits in it.

She grabbed the sling she carried Jay in, and placed her offspring inside of it, before picking up the two bags and making her way to the Zeta Tube down the block.

* * *

 **Central City  
** **November 20, 2017  
** **19:15 pm**

The first thing Mary did when Artemis arrived at her house was throw her arms around Artemis and Jay, crying into Artemis's shoulder. Artemis threw her arms around Mary as well, comforting her.

"Mary, I'm so _sorry_." Artemis said, frowning, as they pulled apart.

"I have now outlived my _son_ and my _husband_. Dear God _don't_ let me out live my _Grandson_." Mary gasped, stroking Jay's cheek.

The widow walked back towards the kitchen, allowing Artemis to enter the house. When she goes to the living room, she sees Barry and Iris sitting on their couch watching their twins play, and Jay and Joan sitting across from them on the love seat.

Artemis places a sleeping Jay inside the playpen Mary and Rudy had permanently placed in their living room before sitting next to Iris on the couch.

"Iris, I'm so sorry about Rudy..." Artemis sighed, placing a hand on the shoulder of Wally's paternal Aunt.

"Thanks Artemis. You know, there was such a big age gap between me & Rudy. I was basically an only child growing up. Now I guess you can say I _am_ one." She sighed, watching Dawn and Don play together.

"Where's Bart?" Artemis asked, turning to Barry.

"Hm? Oh! He's on a mission in Vancouver with Blue Beetle, Robin, & Wonder Girl. I told Nightwing to tell him about Rudy as soon as he returned to the Watch Tower." Barry sighed.

" _How is she taking it?_ " was the question Artemis wished she didn't have to ask.

"A lot better then how she was when Wally..." Joan forced herself to trail off, her eyes dropping to the floor.

"I remember Rudy telling me, a few weeks before Jay was born, that Mary had basically been suicidal because of Wally's death. Then when she found out you were pregnant, it was like the light came back on in her eyes." Jay told them, holding Joan's hand.

"I can side with her on that part..." Artemis sighed.

A few minutes of silence passed before Mary stepped into the doorway.

"Dinner's ready."

* * *

 **Central City  
** **December 3, 2017  
** **14:37 pm**

It took Mary almost two weeks before she finally decided to pack up some of the junk Rudy had kept in his office that had once been Wally's old bedroom.

She had asked Iris and Artemis to help her. So while Barry and the Garricks were watching the kids, the three mother's sat in various places in the small room, going through boxes and deciding what would be kept and would would be put away or thrown away.

Artemis was going through a box when she stumbled across a small box wrapped in red wrapping paper, with a sticker on it, labeled " _To: Artemis From: Wally_ "

"Huh? What's this? Mary, do you know?" Artemis asked, showing it to Mary.

"Oh _that_! Wally gave it to Rudy when he told us you hadn't really died. Asked him to hold on to it. But then he died, and I guess Rudy forgot all about it. I don't know what it is, and I don't know if Rudy did either." Mary explained.

"Open it. What's the worst that could happen?" Iris suggested.

Artemis gave the reporter a small smile, before shrugging, and unwrapping the paper. When she opened the box and saw what was inside, her hand clasped over her mouth as felt tears come to her eyes.

 _A diamond ring_.

A small square diamond rested on a silver band, the beauty of the simplicity shining bright against the black velvet of the inside of the box.

" _Artemis_...?" Mary asked, her and Iris concerned.

Artemis handed Iris the box before she curled up into a ball & cried into her knees.

* * *

 **Palo Alto  
** **January 1, 2018  
** **11:45 am**

Ever since Artemis had found the engagement ring Wally had bought for her, she had been wearing it on a chain around her neck. The chain was the perfect length, long enough to where the ring rested against her heart.

When Jay was older, and had found a girl that Artemis was one hundred percent sure he was going to spend the rest of his life with, she would give him the ring to give to the girl.

And maybe, _just maybe_ , they'd have a _happier_ ending then her and Wally did.

"Happy seven years, Baywatch." Artemis smiled, standing out on the porch, looking up at the clouds, as Jay took a nap inside.

She thought back to six years ago, on their first anniversary.

He had been so... _Awkward_ the days before. Artemis thought something had been wrong with him.

Or with her.

But when the clock struck midnight, beginning the year of 2012, he said only two very simple, yet very meaningful sentences to her.

" _Happy Anniversary, Artemis. I love you_."

She her trip down memory lane was interrupted by the sound of Jay crying inside the apartment.

She quickly went back inside & found Brucely sitting on the couch while Jay sat on the living room rug, his face red.

"What's wrong _thiên thần_?" She cooed, picking him up. Her when she smelled the foul odor coming from his diaper, that's when she knew.

"Geez Jay how long did you hold that one in?" She grimaced, before carrying him towards their shared bedroom to change his diaper.

* * *

 **Watch Tower  
** **February 14, 2018  
** **12:13 pm**

Artemis had no idea what had compelled her to even do it, but she felt like she should. She figured, eventually she would have to, so she might as well have gotten the first one done early & over with.

 _She had taken Jay to see Wally's memorial._

The almost eleven month old was standing in front of Wally's hologram, his hands wondering all over the plaque as he smiled at his Father's virtual form.

"Your daddy would've loved you baby." Artemis smiled, watching her son from a few feet away.

Jay laughed, clapping his chubby hands as he stared up at Wally in awe.

"He looks more and more like Wally every day." Artemis turned and saw Bart walking towards her.

Artemis smiled. "He really does, doesn't he?" She sighed.

"I'm so sorry Jay doesn't get to have him around. _It's all my fault._ " Bart frowned.

"Bart. You didn't do this. You didn't force Wally to try to help you and Barry in the arctic. None of this is your fault." Artemis reassured him.

"No, Artemis. You don't get it. I read up on my family's history- more importantly the _speedsters_. _None_ of the archives mentioned Wally _dying_. And I read all of them a dozen times. Me going back to the past ruined you and Wally's future." Bart muttered, looking at the ground.

"Bart, _you didn't know_. You didn't do any of this on purpose. It's _okay_." Artemis told him, her hand on his shoulder.

" _Hi unca Bar_!" Jay hollered, waving at Bart before going back to looking at Wally's memorial.

Artemis couldn't be mad at Bart. He didn't do it on purpose. Wally dying wasn't anyone's fault but the Reach's. She blamed the Reach for taking Wally away from her, and she blamed Dick for taking away three months they could've spent together from them.

 _All because of that stupid undercover mission_.

Bart gave Artemis a small smile, before throwing his arms around her, giving Jay a kiss goodbye, and running out of the grotto.

* * *

 **Watch Tower  
** **March 15, 2018  
** **13:15 pm**

Nightwing _knew_ Artemis was in the Watch Tower. While she was no longer a hero, she had been helping out with training of the Team and monitor duty for the League over the last few months.

 _Today was the latter_.

And in just one short week, _Jason Henry Crock_ would be a full year old ( _with his Godfather Conner turning 24_ ) And his " _Uncle Dick_ " had the absolute _perfect_ birthday present for him.

 _Nothing_ Artemis or anyone else got him would top it.

"Hey Artemis." Dick smiled at her as he walked up to her sitting in the chair, a cup of coffee in each of his hands for each of them.

The ex archer rolled her eyes as he handed her one of the cups. He then turned to her monitor duty partner.

"How's Lily doing Miss M?" He asked, smiling.

"She's doing great. And finally sleeping through the night." M'gann sighed with relief.

"Nightwing, what do you want?" Artemis growled.

' _Be nice. Or atleast pretend to be_.' M'gann begged.

"Waiting for Conner, Kaldur, Raquel, and Zee to get back from their mission so I can show you guys the birthday present I got for Jay." He told them.

"I don't think anything you give _my_ son is worth having to deal with _you_." Artemis scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh trust me, I think you'll disagree." Dick smirked.

" **Recognized Aqualad B02. Recognized Superboy B04. Recognized Rocket 26. Recognized Zatanna Zatara 25**." The Zeta Tubes rang out.

"Miss M, can you get them to come to the monitor womb please?" Dick requested.

"Sure."

' _Nightwing wants you guys in the Monitor Womb._ ' M'gann informed her friends

' _Why_?' Aqualad asked.

' _Ugh, what happened this time?_ ' Raquel groaned.

'… _I'm not sure. He mentioned something about a birthday gift for Jay next week_.' M'gann mumbled.

' _He better get me something or I'm gonna kick his ass_.' Conner growled, causing Zatanna to laugh.

The four heroes made their way to the Monitor Womb, and were greeted by a smirking Nightwing, an annoyed Artemis, & a skeptical M'gann.

"So what exactly _are_ you getting Jay for his birthday?" Zatanna asked.

"It should be arriving at the Watch Tower through the Zeta Tubes in _three_ … _two_ … _one_..." Dick told them, looking at his watch.

 _And what Artemis heard next, made her drop the coffee Dick had given her._

" **Recognized Kid Flash B03**


	3. Chapter 3

_"Wallman huh? Love the uniform. So tell me, what exactly are your powers?"_

 _"Uh, who's this?"_

 _"Artemis, your new teammate."_

 _"Kid Flash, never heard of you."_

 **XXXXXX**

 _"So how'd it go?"_

 _"It didn't. We talked, he wouldn't hear us. And on top of that, my Vietnemese Lit paper is due at eight am. Don't suppose I could copy off of yours...?"_

 _"Not a chance."_

 _"Hey, it's after midnight. Happy Valentines Day, Artemis."_

 _"You remembered!"_

 _"Come on! What kind of a jerk would I be if I forgot Valentines Day?... For the fifth year in a row..."_

 _"Well I remembered, too band I got you your favorite food: everything."_

 _"Babe, you rock."_

 **XXXXXX**

 **Watch Tower**

 **March 15, 2018**

 **13:45 pm**

Artemis ran to the Zeta Tubes, and when she got there, she just stood there in complete and utter shock.

Wally, the first Kid Flash, the _supposed to be decreased_ Wallace Rudolph West- _her Wally_ \- was _alive_ and standing just a few short yards in front of her and the rest of their original Team.

He was out of his uniform, clad in a dark gray sweater, a pair of jeans & white sneakers, several small cuts along his face, a deep and dark purple bruise on his right cheek where some of his freckles used to be and a matching one along the left side of his jaw. His hair had gotten slightly longer and was matted down with sweat and dirt.

" _H-hey Artemis. S-so... Uh... Exactly how l-long have I been... Gone? Di-Nightwing wouldn't really t-tell me_." Wally stuttered to get the words out, scared of how Artemis would react to him being alive.

Artemis was in _shock_.

She had heard every word he said, from the trembling in his voice to him _almost_ calling Nightwing _Dick_. But instead of responding, whether it be physical or verbal, she found herself standing there, the moments of the last almost two years of her life flashing before her eyes.

 _The day they had his funeral, when she found out that whatever higher being was out there had deemed her worthy enough for to be able to carry his child, the first anniversary she had to celebrate without him, the day their son was born, the one year mark of his death, his birthday when Lily was born, his Father's death, her finding the ring, their second anniversary apart..._

 _And now today_ , a week before their beautiful and perfect Jason's first birthday. And he was standing _right ther_ e in plain site, his facial features just begging for her to _say or do something._

"Artemis...?" Zatanna asked, a hand on her shoulder.

' _Artemis are you ok? It's not a dream, he's real_.' M'gann cooed telepathically.

' _M'gann? Is Zatanna in the link?_ ' Artemis asked her.

' _I am now. What is it_?' Zatanna said softly.

' _I need you to go to his parents house, and get Mary and Jay for me. Please_.' She asked.

' _Of course! I'll be back as soon as I can_.' Zatanna nodded, her hand finally leaving her best friend's shoulder.

The magician made her way to the Zeta Tubes, stopping only to give Wally a much needed hug, before the Zeta Tubes announced her departure.

" **Recognized Zatanna Zatara 25.** _"_

 _"_ Artemis. _Babe_ , please say _something_. Yell, scream, cry- _anything_." By now Wally was begging.

"I think she's in shock." Conner commented.

"Artemis, I know you still blame me for what happened to Wally..." Nightwing started, putting his hand on the archer's shoulder.

 _Big mistake_.

Within two seconds Artemis swung around, sending her first straight into bird boy's _nose_.

The crack was so _loud_ , that Wally could hear it from almost five yards away.

"Oh my God! Artemis!" Raquel shrieked, as her and Kaldur rushed to pick a shocked Dick off the floor.

"Arty! What was that for?!" Wally yelped.

" _Better him then you, Wallace!_ " She snarled at him. Wally knew he was in trouble then. She only called him _Wallace_ when she was truly furious with him.

The speedster gulped, as his long term girlfriend stormed towards him.

" _One year, nine months, and twenty three days_ Wally! That's how long you have put your friends and family through _absolute fucking hell_!" She screeched at him.

She shoved him, causing him to stumble backwards a bit.

" _All_ of us thought you were _dead_! And _poor Bart_ has been _blaming himself_ because he thought it was _his fault_ since apparently you _disintegrating into nothing wasn't in the goddamn history books_!"

' _Give her a chance to calm down Wally. Just stay relaxed_.' M'gann told him.

Artemis must've known M'gann was telepathically talking to the speedster because her rage temporarily turned to her Martian sister.

" _DO NOT TELL HIM WHAT TO DO M'GANN!_ " She screamed.

M'gann hid behind Conner in fear.

"Artemis, I'm sorry! None of this was my intentions, ok!" Wally cried, gripping her by the shoulders.

"Okay..." She muttered, giving a small smile when Wally kissed her on the forehead.

"So tell me, how much have I missed in almost two years?" Wally asked, grinning.

Before Artemis- _or anyone for that matter-_ could answer him the Zeta Tube announced Zatanna's return.

" **Recognized Zatanna Zatara 25. Access Granted A09**."

Wally turned to face the Zeta Tubes and saw Zatanna and his mom standing there, a smile on Mary's face & tears beginning to form in the green eyes he had inherited from her.

And then he saw what was in her arms.

A little boy, maybe a year old, with bright blonde hair with slight curls at the end, sitting on his Mom's hip with his thumb in his mouth, her arm wrapped snugly around him. A diaper bag rested on the shoulder opposite of him.

The little boy took one look at him ( _oh God those are **his** eyes, aren't they?_ ) before he began to squeal with happiness, kicking and squirming to get out of Mary's arms.

" _Artemis_...?" Wally asked, turning to face his girlfriend of now seven years.

All she could do was look at her feet.

That's what made Wally put two and two together. That was Artemis and his _son_.

Finally tired of him squirming, Mary put the little boy down. On short chubby legs, Jay went straight towards Wally. Once he reached his parents, he stretched his arms up, whining, begging to be picked up by his Dad for the first time in his life.

"Do you know I am?" Wally asked, sounding surprised.

"Dada!" Jay babbled, standing on his tip toes. Smiling, Wally bent down and picked his son up, resting him on his hip. In an instant, Jay's head was on his shoulder and his thumb was in his mouth.

"So what's your name little guy?" Wally grinned.

"Jason Henry Crock. But everyone calls him Jay." Artemis told him.

"Thank you for _not_ naming him after me. And we are so making him a _West_ as soon as possible." Wally said, earning a quick nod from Artemis.

"So how old is he?" Wally asked, fearing he had missed his son's first birthday, like he had his birth and Artemis's entire pregnancy.

"He turns one in a week. He's got the same birthday as Conner." Artemis told him.

 _Oh thank God_.

"Supey's birthday, huh? No other present is gonna top that one Conner. Hey, maybe you should have a kid on mine?" Wally laughed.

"Too late." Conner smirked.

"You're kidding! No way! What'd you & Miss M have?... It _is_ M'gann's isn't it?" Wally asked, realizing they weren't together when he... _Died_.

"Yes she's mine, Wally." M'gann smiled.

"You guys had a little girl?" Wally beamed, happy to know that there had been some good moments in the time he had been gone.

"Hey mom, where's Dad at?" Wally asked, turning towards Mary once he realized Rudy wasn't there as well.

In a split second he saw Mary's heart break.

 **XXXXXX**

 **Watch Tower**

 **March 15, 2018**

 **14:05 pm**

"So it was a... Heart attack?" Wally asked. Him, Mary, and Artemis were in the interrogation room. Jay had fallen asleep in Wally's arms, his head against his Dad's chest with three of his fingers stuck in his mouth.

"That's what the Doctor told us." Mary said.

"When?"

"Back in November. On the twentieth." Artemis told him.

Wally frowned. "Did he suffer?"

"No. Doctor said it was quick & painless." Mary said, her hands clasped together on the table.

Wally stared down at his sleeping son. He still couldn't believe he and Artemis actually _made_ him. He was everything he ever imagined their son looking like.

 _Jay was so perfect._

"Dad probably thought he was gonna get to see me again when he died..." Wally sighed, frowning at his mom and girlfriend, causing both of them to frown as well.

"I wanna visit him." He announced suddenly.

"Wally..." Artemis sighed.

"I don't care. I wanna visit him." Wally said stubbornly.

 **XXXXXX**

 **Central City**

 **March 15, 2018**

 **14:45 pm**

 _Robert Rudolph West_

 _May 16, 1959_

 _November 20, 2017_

Wally stared at the tombstone, no emotion on his face.

His dad was actually _gone_.

Gone like he himself was for almost twenty two months. Only this time, there _wasn't_ going to be any " _welcome back from the dead_ " moments of crying happy tears and being _reunited_ with _a baby boy you didn't know you had helped conceive._

Rudy had _never_ been a _perfect_ father. He _wasn't_ the _abusive, sexist, bigotted drunk_ his only non hero friend Danny had growing up- who had ended up _killing_ him in a drunken rage _two weeks before_ their high school graduation- but Rudy _did_ have room for improvement.

It wasn't like any of that mattered anymore, anyway.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to see me when you went... To where ever you're at now... Like you thought you were going to." Wally sighed, trailing off. His family had never been a very religious, _instead_ choosing to accept people's various faiths, yet declining to have any of their own.

" _Daddy_...!" Wally turned and watched as Jay toddled towards him, gripping the leg of his jeans tightly in his fists.

"Hey _Jaybird_." Wally beamed, ruffling his hair. He had barely known his own son for two hours and had already given him a nickname.

"Do you miss Gampa?" Jay asked.

"Every day." Wally sighed.

Wally turned to his right and walked a few yards down the rows of headstones, before standing in front of one in particular.

 _Daniel Lee Matthews_

 _December 30, 1994_

 _May 15, 2013_

Wally remembered the day he had found out Danny was... _Gone_.

 _After school Wally had raced to the Cave, went straight into his assigned room, sat down against the dresser and cried._

 _Conner had been the one to hear him, but since he didn't have the code to access Wally's room, he couldn't attempt to see what was wrong with him._

 _So he decided to do the alternative: call Artemis._

 _"What do you mean he's crying?" Artemis cried._

 _"He's in his room, crying. Pretty loudly actually. Did you two break up or something?" Conner questioned._

 _"No. Things are great between me and Wally right now, actually. I gotta head home to change and I'll be right there." Artemis told him, before hanging up the phone._

 _As promised, the Zeta Tubes announced Artemis' arrival ten minutes later. The archer made her way towards the sleeping corridors, where Conner and M'gann were trying to get Wally to let them in._

 _"Wally, come on. Let us in Baywatch." Artemis sighed, pounding on the door._

 _They were responded with a loud heart wrenching sob from the speedster._

 _" **Recognized Robin B01. Recognized Zatanna B08**."_

 _The two love birds made their way towards their other Teammates, confused about why they were all standing outside Wally's bedroom door._

 _"What are you guys doing?" Zatanna asked._

 _"Wally's crying. But we don't know why." M'gann frowned._

 _"KF! Come on man, what's wrong?" Dick hollered, pounding on the door._

 _His best friend ignored him, instead hearing another sob from Wally._

 _"Does anyone have any idea as to what's wrong?" Dick sighed, turning to face his other friends._

 _"He came here, ran straight for his room. I heard him crying a little while later." Conner explained, crossing his arms._

 _" **Recognized Flash 04**."_

 _Barry raced towards the Team, a frown on the older man's face._

 _"Wally, your mom told me what happened. I'm so sorry." Barry sighed, his forehead pressed against the door._

 _"Barry? What happened?" Artemis asked._

 _"You know Danny, right?" Barry asked. Dick and Artemis nodded while Zatanna, Conner, and M'gann shook their heads no._

 _"Wally doesn't have a lot of friends outside the Team. The only one he really has is Danny." Artemis sighed, explaining who Tristan was to the rest of the Team._

 _"What happened to him?" M'gann asked._

 _"His dad killed him last night. Beat him to death with a baseball bat..." Barry frowned, causing the teenagers to gasp in horror._

 _They barely registered Wally opening his door and racing towards the kitchen. Barry ran after him, the rest of the Team trailing behind._

 _What they found surprised them._

 _Barry had his arms around Wally, holding him from going anywhere. The distraught speedster had a steak knife in his hands and was doing everything he could to run towards the Zeta Tubes._

 _"Kid! Kid! Wally stop! He's not worth it! He's going away for a long time, I promise." Barry kept telling him over and over again._

 _It had been the first time anyone on his Team- including Dick and Artemis- had seen him cry._

 _Wally didn't go to his graduation ceremony. He opted to just pick his diploma up after the ceremony. His only friend there was gone._

 _He saw no point in going._

"Da-de? Who's that?" Jay asked.

"An old friend of Daddy's." Wally said, eyes never leaving the grave marker.

"Do you miss him like you miss Gampa?"

"Mhm." Wally nodded, before picking his son up in his arms and walking back to Artemis' beat up old Honda where she was waiting for them.

 **XXXXXX**

 **Watch Tower**

 **March 19, 2018**

 **11:17 am**

Wally marveled at how much Liliana looked like Conner.

The newly turned four month old girl was sitting in a swing, being watched by her Godfather and birthday buddy as she swung forward and back.

All Wally saw in her was _Conner_. From her thick black hair, to her bright blue eyes, and the smile she gave him whenever he smiled at her.

Every single part of _Liliana Marie Kent_ was her Daddy.

"I can't believe we're both Dads." Wally said, looking up at Conner as the clone entered the room.

"Tell me about it. Lily was actually born in our bed." Conner told him, sitting down next to the returned speedster.

"You have got to be joking!" Wally cried.

"Nope. When M'gann went in to labor, she didn't think she'd make it to the nearest Zeta Tube. So I called Canary and had her come over. A few hours later, Lily was born." He explained to him.

"Wow. I wonder what Jay's birth was like..." Wally muttered.

"Dunno. From what I've heard, Artemis didn't even tell anyone she had gone into labor. First person to know was your Mom, and that was _after_ he had already been born."

Wally nodded, understanding.

 **XXXXXX**

 **Palo Alto**

 **March 21, 2018**

 **20:45 pm**

Jay's first birthday had been an eventful day filled with cake, presents, and photographs of Wally, Artemis, and the rest of Jay's family holding and playing with the birthday boy.

But now it was time for bed, and the blonde one year old was fast asleep in his crib, while his parents snuggled together on the couch, absentmindedly watching television.

Artemis soon found herself leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses on Wally's bare neck. The two had actually not been intimate in the almost week that he had been back, despite what nearly every League and Team member thought.

But Artemis had grown tired of waiting. She spent nearly two years without him, and she wasn't going to wait another moment. She clicked the television off, and climbed onto his lap.

"Well hello. Whatcha doing?" He smirked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"The plan was _you_." She mused.

Wally chuckled, slipping his hands underneath her shirt, as she bit at his neck. It might've been almost two years since they'd done it, but Wally was able to unhook her bra with ease, pulling it off of her arms & tossing it on to the floor, leaving her shirt still on.

His hands gripped her hips as he flipped them, causing Artemis to lay on her back across the couch with him climbing on top of her.

" _Mmm_..." She moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist as he sucked on her neck.

As soon as Wally managed to get her shirt off, both of them could hear Jay crying from their bedroom.

"I'll get him." Wally said, placing a quick peck on Artemis' lips before running towards their crying one year old son.

Artemis sat up, pulling her shirt back over her head. She got up, and made her way towards Wally and Jason.

The sight she saw made her heart swell.

Wally was standing in front of Jay's crib, their no longer sobbing son in his arms, smiling and giggling as Wally covered his chubby cheek with kisses.

She smiled, knowing fully well that her family was finally complete, and nothing was ever going to take that away from her.

 _Or so she hoped._


End file.
